Chelan Complex Fire Update – Friday, August 28, 2015 – 9 a.m
Community Meeting: A community meeting will be held tonight night (Friday, August 28) at 7:00pm at Fire Station #1, 2200 Entiat Way, in Entiat. A second meeting will be held Saturday, August 29, at 7:00pm at the Performing Arts Center, Chelan High School, 215 W. Webster Way.
Chelan Complex: Yesterday, the fire crossed the line at South Fork Gold Creek on the north side. Crews are scouting opportunities to construct a dozer line. Goat Mountain continues to be closely monitored. Crews will continue to patrol and mop up the fire along the western flank today. Due to minimal fire activity, the southern portion of the fire will be monitored by air today.
First Creek: Firefighters made great strides yesterday, with containment increasing to 25%. Crews conducted burnout operations along the northwestern flank of the fire around Slide Ridge. The north end of the fire remains south of 25 Mile Creek. Water drops in the central section of the fire cooled hot spots that emerged during the hot, dry part of the day Thursday. Crews continue to prepare line along the northwest flank of the fire. Structure protection continues along Lake Chelan, Field Points Landing, and the 25 Mile Creek area.
Wolverine: The winds aligned with the Entiat drainage yesterday, contributing to extreme fire behavior. Additional equipment was moved into the Entiat drainage to develop contingency lines. Aircraft dropped retardant on the southern end of the fire to check forward fire spread. Firefighters continue to work on developing an anchor point in the Pope Creek area and are evaluating suppression options for a small spot fire in the Big Hill area to the east. Residents of Entiat River Rd., from the community of Brief northward, continue to be under a Level 1 evacuation notice. Firefighters are continuing work in Tommy Creek and implementing structure protection in the upper portions of the Entiat drainage. As a precautionary measure, the Wenatchee River Ranger District has expanded its closure area to include all national forest lands north of Highway 2, except the higher elevation Pacific Crest Trail. Crews continue to scout for line construction opportunities in the Chiwawa drainage and a spike camp is being set up to facilitate operations in that area.
Weather: Weather will be changing throughout the day. In the morning, winds will be light and variable with cloud cover providing stability. The Wolverine fire may experience light rain in the morning to afternoon, with a 20% chance of wetting rain. Humidity in this area is expected to rise up to 35%. The Chelan Complex fire will experience comparatively drier weather, with wetting rain unlikely and humidity topping out at about 32%. Wind is expected to increase in the afternoon to evening with gusts up to 20 mph and humidity rising up to 60%. A strong cold front is expected to move through the area Friday night into Saturday, bringing with it high winds and potential for heavy rain in the Wolverine fire area.
Evacuation/Aid Information: Level 3 evacuations are in place for the South Lakeshore Road area north of Morning Sun Drive. Morning Sun Drive south to the Yacht Club was reduced yesterday to level 2. Residents in the area of any of the fires are urged to remain vigilant. Evacuation information is available from Chelan and Okanogan County Emergency Management. Red Cross shelters are available in Chelan, Brewster, Hunters, Loon Lake, and Republic.
Road Closures and Evacuations:
· Washington State Patrol: 509-682-8090
National Forest area closures:
· Methow Ranger District: 509-996-4003
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· Wenatchee River District: 509-548-2550
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· Chelan Ranger District: 509-682-4900
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